Shrubs and Vines 



name of lilac is Syn?tga, and that of syringa is Philadel- 

 phus ; and horticultural writers are constantly urging 

 the public to name the plants correctly. I hope they 

 will succeed, but I suspect that lilacs will be called lilacs, 

 and syringa syringa, to the end of time. 



Syringa — I mean Philadelphus — is a genus of about a 

 dozen species, the world over, and our common sort, 

 coronariiis, is an imported plant that has developed sev- 

 eral quite distinct varieties under the process of cultiva- 

 tion, with double flowers and peculiar markings of foli- 

 age. A native species of the Southern States, gra7idiflora, 

 has larger blossoms than the co?'o?iarius, which are also 

 quite as pleasantly scented as the latter ; but it is prob- 

 ably not hardy enough to supplant its foreign rival. 

 Hybridizing has put many varieties on the market, whose 

 advantages are very evident to the hybridists themselves, 

 and more or less so to others. 



A synonym for fragrance is honeysuckle, although in 

 some of the species this is not a significant feature. The 

 genus — botanically called Lonicera — is widely repre- 

 sented in different countries, particularly those of the 

 north temperate zone, whereas its southern extension is 

 limited. Our native shrubs in this group are quite in- 

 ferior, and scarcely worth cultivating, with so many 

 choicer foreign species to choose from. 



The flower-type is tubular or funnel -form, lobed and 

 somewhat irregular at the apex, with five stamens, and 

 the leaf is ovate, oval, or long-ovate, entire and oppo- 

 site. In foliage honeysuckles are inferior to many other 

 shrubs, and the blossom, as a rule, is quite small (which 

 is measurably compensated for by its profusion), of vari- 



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